I love to travel. I love to eat. So, as you can guess, I’m one happy girl right now because I’m able to do both. I’ve been looking forward to coming to NY for a very long time because of the plethora of vegan (and Raw) food options. I came prepared with a long list of places that I want to try. While Raw items might be limited on some of the menus, I still wanted to try out a bunch of places.
The first restaurant we visited Wednesday night was Candle Cafe (we went back Thursday for lunch). There are two restaurants in the city by these owners, Candle 79 (more upscale from what I understand) and Candle Cafe. We plan on checking out Candle 79′s brunch menu this weekend. The owners pride themselves on serving organic vegan food and I was stoked to try them out. We were not disappointed. It was fantastic. That’s a pic of my lovely green juice I had with lunch Thursday.
Then, for Thursday’s dinner, we went to Cafe Blossom in the upper west side, which is very close to our hotel (lucky me!!!). Like Candle Cafe, they were packed. The decor was beautiful and we loved our food. We will be going there many times during our visit here in NY. They’re under the same ownership as Blossom (supposedly more upscale). They were the winner of “Time Out NYC Eat Out Awards 2008 Best Vegetarian Restaurant” and I’m eager to try Blossom now as well.
Exciting Times with Exciting People!
I have a fantastically FUN schedule full of social get togethers with many Raw foodies while I’m here. Friday, I’m meeting the lovely and talented Judita for lunch at Pure Food & Takeaway (I’ve been dreaming of eating here for so long!). You can bet that I’ll be visiting this awesome place multiple times since I can’t eat everything on the menu in one visit, although I might try.
Saturday afternoon, I’m meeting the uberly sweet and fun Gena (of Choosing Raw). She is fast becoming a great friend of mine and I can’t wait to give her a huge hug. We’re getting juiced up at Cafe Blossom. This won’t be our only visit together. Fortunately, we are staying not far from her, so we’ll be gal palling around more than once.
Saturday night, I’m meeting the super famously cool cat, Dhru (of We Like It Raw) at Pure Food & Wine (another place I can now check off of my life’s to-do list – whoot!). Again, I plan on going there a few times so I can try different things. In fact, I’ll be there next Thursday night (fingers crossed) to meet up with one of my girlfriends from culinary school.
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Yay! It’s that time again! I want to have another awesome giveaway. This time I’m giving away a copy of my book, Kristen Suzanne’s EASY RAW VEGAN Smoothies, Juices, Elixirs, & Drinks (includes wine drinks!). Everyone around the world is welcome to participate. If I draw the name of someone who lives outside the continental United States, I’ll email you the ebook version.
This book is so fun! Getting all of the nutrition and anti-oxidants your body needs for maximum health is SUPER EASY once you start eating Raw plant-based foods every day, and one of the easiest ways to do this consistently is to DRINK THEM! These recipes are among the easiest Raw recipes you will find… just blend ‘em up (or juice ‘em) and chug ‘em down. You’ll start feeling the powerful effects immediately, and this book gives you so many recipes that you’ll never run out of variety.
Want the chance to win? It’s simple to participate! All you have to do is answer the following question in this post’s comment section. The contest will end Saturday night, February 21st @ 11:59pm. I’ll enter everyone’s name who answered the question into a drawing and announce the winner on my blog Sunday, Feb 22nd.
Question: If you could master one musical instrument, which one would you choose and WHY?
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It was cold and rainy here in Arizona, but that didn’t stop me from filling my body up with super nutritious foods. To stay warm, I layered on extra clothes and squishy thick socks.
Today’s Menu
3 cups Plant Blood (purple cabbage, apples)
1 Super Shake
1 quart Plant Blood (broccoli, carrots)
1 large salad with King Garlic Hemp Dressing
Raw crackers with hummus
3 cups Plant Blood (cucumber, celery)
4 dates
herbal tea
1 cup hemp milk
1 large salad with King Garlic Hemp Dressing
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The island of Moorea is absolutely majestic. We spent the first half of our epic vacation there before heading off to Bora Bora to get married. Moorea is less developed than Bora Bora and its beauty is stunning (as you can see). This is a picture of Cook’s Bay where our resort was located. (See that hut-looking thing on the left? That’s where we ate breakfast every morning.) Each day started out with this romantic view of dazzling topography and ocean water.
Our days on Moorea were full of adventure and fun. This was the island where we took our shark and sting ray feeding excursion. Additionally, we went for a safari ride around the island where we visited flower and pineapple plantations, experienced different views of the surrounding tranquil ocean, and learned about black pearls.
The fruit was amazing! The pineapple – OMG! So sweet and delicious, you eat the core right along with the surrounding flesh. That’s a picture of me when we visited a pineapple plantation. We also enjoyed pamplemousse (french grapefruit, which is sweeter than normal grapefruit found in the states), rambutan, and star apple (one of my favorites – it was sweet and almost custard-like in parts). You can easily live it up Raw in French Polynesia, but I sure did miss my hardcore greens.
One of the best aspects of these islands is the feeling of safety. On both islands we walked about (outside our resorts) at all times, day or night, and felt very safe. The people are kind there, whether they work at the resort or are just walking down the street. French Polynesia is quite possibly the friendliest place I’ve ever been and one of the reasons I didn’t want to leave. Their warm and “no worry” attitude is contagious.
Back to the present… it’s been a lovely day. I spent a boat-load of money at Whole Foods stocking up of plant blood components and other raw vegan ingredients I need for a special dinner I’m attending tomorrow night with Raw Model (I’m bringing Tuscon Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto: scroll to Aug 23 post, a variation of my side: The Greatest Hummus in the World, vegetable crudites, flax crackers, and Blackberry Cobbler).
Today’s food has been scrumptiously Raw Vegan. So far, I’ve had:
3 bananas (not all at once)
Spinach salad (cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, Italian dressing)
Kitchen Sink Plant Blood (green juice).
What is Kitchen Sink Plant Blood you ask? I basically juiced everything I had except the kitchen sink – LOL. I’m talking: dandelion greens, carrots, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, celery, cucumber, and purple kale. It was DELICIOUS!! Drinking fresh juice (preferably green as the majority of it) is so important for optimal health. Whether you’re 100% Raw or 10% Raw, 100% Vegan or 50% Vegan, toddler age or senior… you need to be drinking fresh plant blood on a daily basis. Drinking plant blood daily is what divides the men from the boys, the divas from the groupies, and makes all the difference in the world when it comes to ultimate health.
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Today, I made a mother of a Plant Blood (my name for juice). Here is what it was and it kept me high on juice all day long (made about 3 quarts):
1-2 cups water
3 cups fresh, home grown sprouts
2 red delicious apples*
1/2 bunch celery
1 red bell pepper
2 cucumbers**
4 large rainbow chard leaves
4 large curly kale leaves***
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice****
juice from 2 oranges****
* This variety is reported to have the highest level of phytonutrients!
** Great for your skin!
*** Potent cancer fighting antioxidants in these babies!
**** Say “hello” to Vitamin C!
I used my Blendtec blender (the best high-powered blender on the market in my opinion) to liquefy my produce. Then, I strained it through a nutmilk bag into a large bowl, and transferred it to three glass mason jars (I filled them to the tippy top to reduce oxidation). I savored them all day long. Yowza! This plant blood was loaded with so many powerful nutrients. It rocked!
Daily Conversation Question:
Would you like a quiet life of safety or a life of great adventure and uncertainty?
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Today’s juice is definitely kick-ass as far as nutrients go because I filled it with home-grown fresh sprouts. I’m feeling extra energized and strong after drinking just 1/2 a glass, and looking forward to going to the gym later this afternoon to work off some of this energy…and, speaking of working out, I received a great question on my blog yesterday about my feelings toward muscle /physical fitness in comparing my pre-raw-vegan days to now (Extra-High-Raw, All-Vegan). I plan on addressing this in a post in the next few days, because I do have some thoughts to share.
Sproutin’ Kick Ass Green Juice
Yield 2 quarts
2 cups water
4 cups sprouts
juice of 2 lemons
juice of 2 oranges
5 big radishes
2 golden delicious apples
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch celery
1 cucumber
Blend all of the ingredients (might take two batches in the blender to get it all done) and strain into a large bowl using a nutmilk bag.
Today’s workout
Legs (3 straight sets, 15 reps)
Walking lunges with dumbbells
Single leg squat with dumbbells
Wall sit (60 seconds in length, 3X, with 60 second rest between sets)
Cardio
Nice long walk to stretch my leg muscles
Daily Conversation Question:
Who would you like to trade places with for one month?
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I'm Kristen, and welcome to my blog. I'm a wife, mom, author, and I love to eat so food is usually the topic of my blog posts. I'm a former (almost decade long) vegan turned back omnivore who enjoys reading, rebounding, coffee, and dark chocolate. 
